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Page added on May 12, 2016
Lawn Farming, the Next Big Thing
Last week’s discussion in the comments section about making hay the simple, old fashioned way led me on to grandiose thoughts. Sounds crazy but the logic is all there. We have 40 million acres of lawns in this country. We spend $30 billion on lawn care. We annually irrigate our lawns with seven billion gallons of water and thirty million tons of fertilizer. That’s enough to make an awful lot of hay for an awful lot of livestock and chickens. An acre of regular hay makes three to eight tons or more per acre and I imagine lawn hay, fertilized and irrigated so preciously would produce in the middle of that range. Bluegrass and white clover cut short as they are in lawns, would dry out quickly, could be raked and sucked up with air bags for dry hay, or packed in bags as silage. Instead, we are taking this forage, some 200 million tons of what could be the best hay ever and the only feed the animals would need and for which the manpower and the machinery needed is already in place, and throwing most of it away.
Okay, so you wouldn’t want to use herbicides and pesticides on those lawns, or only a little, but so? If you are getting a good price for your good hay, or feeding it yourself to your own livestock, who needs all those “cides”? Money in the pocket makes dandelions on the lawn almost invisible.
Quite a national conversation would erupt over which grasses and legumes are best for lawn farms. A legume is necessary because it adds nitrogen to the soil and protein to the diet. In my area, bluegrass and white clover would be my choice. You’d never have to replant them. In my climate this combination can be mowed from the middle of April right up into November. Other areas, like in the south, might use legumes that grow nearly all year around.
Of course, should the future be peopled by lawn farmers who were truly enlightened, lawns could be sowed to alfalfa, or ladino clover, or crimson clover, producing nearly 400 million tons of hay— of a quality that would require no grain feeding in addition at all.
Every home with a lawn becomes a potential farm. The more the population increases, the more the number of farms increase. The last differences between rural farm and urban farm disappear. If lawn farmers didn’t want to feed their crop themselves, they could always sell it to a neighbor or to trucking businesses with regularly scheduled stops in every neighborhood. If Saudi Arabia started buying their hay from our lawn farms, we would no longer have to listen to nonsense about how the American farmer must gear up to feed the world. I might at least afford to buy a new lawnmower.
So what’s to stop such a doable thing from happening? I was going to say opposition would come from the usual bullheadedness that resists all change it can’t see any profit in it. But I can’t see anybody losing any money on this deal. Lawn farming means more money for everyone. Even big industrial grain farms won’t bitch too much because as they face the end of their era, they will realize they have a fortune in land to sell to lawn farmers who want to buy land in small amounts. Lawn farm equipment will soar in demand and manufacturers will make more money selling little tractors than big ones. Scientists and agri-suppliers will have vast new markets for their services opening up, supplying lawn farms with improved forages and forage equipment. It will be a bonanza for makers of lawn games and pastime. Only lawn farming allows the use of land for both food production and recreation at the same time.
Lawn farms could double-crop mushrooms and hay. Or fish worms and hay. I keep trying to figure out a way to grow hay or pasture in a field of solar panels. Whatever, the trick will be to think small. If you only have to cut and dry and airbag a third of an acre of lawn grasses every week, you should be able to do it in two days, greatly increasing your chances of getting the hay in without rain on it. Farms so signed and designed to get most of the hay in the barn without rain opens the day when farming will finally become profitable.
34 Comments on "Lawn Farming, the Next Big Thing"
makati1 on Thu, 12th May 2016 7:25 pm
Illegal in many parts of the US.
Nuff said.
onlooker on Thu, 12th May 2016 7:29 pm
Yes they want to keep all of us Americans dependent upon the system.
Dustin Hoffman on Thu, 12th May 2016 7:52 pm
Bill Mollison, the co creator of the concept of “Permaculture”, had this change in mind decades ago. Hated lawns and said we were farmers of grass.
Anyway, good luck changing Joe Six Pack or Martha Stewart types! Ain’t gonna to happen while Walmart is down the road open 24/7.
Davy on Thu, 12th May 2016 8:10 pm
Someone needs to tell this guy that if you are going to produce hay you are going to have to return nutrients in some way. The way it used to be done was through animal manure. Don’t waste your time with this if you want to accomplish much. If your expectations are not high and you want to have a hobby go right ahead. If you really want to be green don’t drive as an alternative effort.
It takes lots of grass to make a meaningful return on energy invested. The efforts with grass and all forage needs to be part of a system. It is really tough to make a system work. Today we throw money at it and it often does not make a return. Most hobby farms don’t turn a profit so you know a lawn farm won’t. It is nice to talk about alternative farming until you start farming. Before you know it you are trending towards the conventional just to survive. This is not going to change until our way of life changes.
makati1 on Thu, 12th May 2016 8:33 pm
BTW: If you might want to read this if you are an American home ‘owner’.
Dear Homeowner, What Exactly Do You “Own”?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-12/dear-homeowner-what-exactly-do-you-own
“…We’re constantly told ours is an ownership society in which owning a home is the foundation of household wealth. The concept of ownership may appear straightforward, but consider these questions:
1. If the house is mortgaged, what does the homeowner “own” when the bank has the senior claim to the property?
2. If the homeowner owes local government $13,000 a year in property taxes, what does the homeowner “own” once they pay $260,000 in property taxes over 20 years? …”
Read on….
onlooker on Thu, 12th May 2016 8:35 pm
That is so true again Mak, the ownership myth is just that a big Myth.
Go Speed Racer on Thu, 12th May 2016 8:42 pm
Article said the lawn clippings are all wasted. In many areas now, for curb pickup we have the ‘green recycle can’.
The clippings are composted to topsoil. This is not wasted.
Its amazing the ‘anti recycle’ crowd. I know one guy in Reno he refuse to recycle the clippings and throws them all into the trash just to prove he is big macho man with large biceps. Too dumb to notice it cost way more to fill your garbage can with lawn clippings than put them into green can which is way cheaper.
Northwest Resident on Thu, 12th May 2016 8:43 pm
Why anybody would want to grow hay in their limited back/front yard lawn space is hard to figure out. Why grow hay unless you have livestock to feed it to? Maybe grow Timothy hay for feeding to your “herd” of rabbits?
But it is in fact possible to produce a significant amount of food in one’s front/back yard, and preserve it long term, and have if not a sole source of food then at least a primary source.
As proof, here’s my backyard from last year — going good this year too (except the carrots which are a major pain in the ass to get going):
http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/NWR2015/library/?sort=9&page=1
ghung on Thu, 12th May 2016 9:45 pm
Speaking from experience, when those folks cut the hay in their yards, they’ll find that all the mice and other little creatures that were living in the tall grass need somewhere else to live. Better get a good cat. In our area, the hawks and coyotes love it when we cut the hay (which will be as soon as the next dry spell). They keep the refugee crisis under control.
penury on Thu, 12th May 2016 10:38 pm
NWR you are indeed fortunate to have the space to garden that way, And the soil to grow anything. In U.S. suberbia prior to building all top soil is stripped and removed. Yards are too small to plant a rose bush. If you are young enough to do the work and really want to grow crops you can figure at least five years to create a growing environment even for hay. the amount of effort will be greater than you thing. Most municipalities have strict zoning about what and where you can grow on your property. In a large number of states the collection and impoundment of rain water is not legal,and I have it on good authority (me) that climate change is changing the growing seasons and altering the plants which will do well. Nw will have experience the dryer and warmer seasons of the N.W in the last few years, Lack of forage in the usual feeding areas is forcing the wildlife into the cities. Deer do eat more than roses.(joke)
Boat on Thu, 12th May 2016 11:23 pm
Handle Comes Off Putin’s Military Upgrade in Patriot Test
President Vladimir Putin praised recent improvements in Russian military equipment at meetings with defense chiefs on Thursday. It probably wasn’t a good day for the handle literally to come off those claims.
As the president struggled to open the passenger door of a new UAZ Patriot vehicle, General Alexander Shevchenko stepped in and ripped the handle off the truck. “Well done,” Putin said, according to a Lifenews video of the incident, which also showed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov looking startled.
Unperturbed, the general tossed the handle into the truck through the door’s open window and tried unsuccessfully to open it from the inside. When it refused to budge, he turned to a rear door which opened normally.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/the-handle-comes-off-putin-s-military-upgrade-in-patriot-test
Apneaman on Thu, 12th May 2016 11:41 pm
Boat, are you trying to compare a door handle to the F-35? Biggest boondoggle in military history – ROLFLMAO. American propaganda is so fucking amateurish compared to the Russians.
boaty take a look at how the US army fucks up their vehicles.
Airdrop Goes Wrong US Army Humvees Fall & Crash to the Ground Parachute Failure Airborne Fail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjF8ju7YeLI
Apneaman on Thu, 12th May 2016 11:49 pm
Hey taxpayer boat, put this in your pipe and smoke it.
How DOD’s $1.5 Trillion F-35 Broke the Air Force
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/07/31/how-dods-15-trillion-f-35-broke-the-air-force.html
America’s ‘everything’ fighter jet is a total disaster
http://theweek.com/articles/601080/americas-everything-fighter-jet-total-disaster
GregT on Fri, 13th May 2016 12:03 am
Right Boat, get your head out of your ass.
NASA To Stick With Russian Rockets For Transportation To The ISS
NASA had looked at initiating US space flights by the year 2017 through its Commercial Crew Program; however, the budget proposal devised by both the House and Senate for fiscal year starting on Oct. 1 cannot push the said plans.”
“Unfortunately, for five years now, the Congress … has not adequately funded the Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight launches to American soil this year, as planned,” Bolden wrote. With this, the resulting situation is that US had to pursue its continuous exclusive dependence on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft as the staff move vehicle for US and international partner agencies.”
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/74559/20150806/nasa-to-stick-with-russian-rockets-for-transportation-to-the-iss.htm
GregT on Fri, 13th May 2016 12:22 am
NWR,
Just curious. Why are you having problems ‘getting carrots going’?
Northwest Resident on Fri, 13th May 2016 1:24 am
GregT — It takes 2 weeks generally, or more, for carrot seeds to germinate. During that time, the soil needs to be wet the entire time. If the seeds get wet and start their process toward sprouting, then dry out, they mostly die. Keeping the soil wet for two weeks solid while the sun is shining and the water is evaporating becomes a problem because I have to go to the office and work. I have built a “mini-greenhouse” over the planter that I’ve seeded with carrots, that helps but this time I didn’t do it right and the wind collapsed it, so I came home to find that all my “early” sprouting carrots were dead due to being trapped under the plastic all day! Live and learn. Also, I have found that carrots sprout much faster and better in store-bought potting soil. My soil despite many amendments and constant mixing is still less than ideal, and the carrots seem to be very picky about what they sprout in. You get the picture I’m sure. I bought a huge load of what was advertised as very nutritious compost/soil in February and wheel-barrowed it back to the planters and mixed it in, but it turns out that the soil isn’t as nutritious as advertised. Fortunately I have a big pile of compost that IS very nutritious, so I have organic fertilizer, but have to now put it on top of the soil rather than mixing it in — that’s another aspect of the problem I think. Did I say “live and learn”? How’s your self-sustaining food effort going?
Northwest Resident on Fri, 13th May 2016 1:31 am
penury — I agree that I am very fortunate. But the soil I started out with was hard-packed clay — thick and gooey when wet, hard as rock when dry. I have had to do substantial work with that soil over several years to get it to where it is now, and still have a ways to go. Good exercise with the pick axe and shovel, looking at the bright side. The whole backyard was and still is a major project. Hours and hours of labor. Before even beginning, I had to cut down several trees, chunk them up and remove the debris. I had to hack and dig the roots out of the ground. The number of hours I have spent working that soil probably range into the several hundreds or more. So, lucky to be in a place that has the potential, lucky to be what Gail refers to as an “elite employee” and therefore having enough money to finance all the materials, lucky to still be in very good physical shape at my age (61). But then again, I worked hard to stay in shape and get myself into my good job too. But, I admit, definitely lucky. Most of all, lucky (or smart enough? or combination of the two) to figure out the reality of our dire economic and energy situation, and just plain emotionally tough enough to recognize and come to grips with that reality. Most people by far still don’t get it, and never will.
makati1 on Fri, 13th May 2016 6:23 am
Appropriate reading for Friday the 13th…
“For as Harold Pinter, the Nobel Laureate for Literature in his acceptance speech of the Nobel Prize said, “The United States quite simply doesn’t give a damn about the United Nations, international law or critical dissent, which it regards as impotent and irrelevant.” “How to make them “give a damn,” he once asked me, “before they kill us all?” How indeed? That is the question.”
http://journal-neo.org/2016/05/12/the-usa-how-to-make-them-give-a-damn/
“If a history were to be written of how the U.S. military became Washington’s drug of choice, it would undoubtedly have to begin in the Cold War era. It was, however, in the prolonged moment of triumphalism that followed the Soviet Union’s implosion in 1991 that the military gained its present position of unquestioned dominance.”
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176139/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_they_just_can't_stop_themselves/#more
Can you hear the war drums getting louder and louder? I can.
onlooker on Fri, 13th May 2016 6:38 am
Considering the waning of American economic strength and widespread worldwide populist opposition to US policies and perceived agenda, it is natural and logical that the US would use the one ace in the deck that is still has its military. Of course I also deem any overreach militarily to put the US directly into confrontation with Russia and/or China. This sets up the perilous possibility of a nuclear conflagration.
ghung on Fri, 13th May 2016 8:21 am
As usual, Boat or some other a’hole goes completely off topic. Forget your ADD meds, Boat?
At NWR; I’ve had good success with carrots and beets that come on the tissue ‘tape’ (already spaced; just dig a small trench, lay the tape in it , cover and water in. Using a drip hose on a timer (both cheap) next to the tape for the first few weeks really gets them going. Someone gave me a pack of carrot seed tape last year and now I’m hooked. Those tiny seeds are a pain in the ass. Burpee and Ferry Morse both sell the seeds on tape.
PracticalMaina on Fri, 13th May 2016 8:29 am
I tried tape for lettuce last year, I ended up letting them dry out accidentally, it was by far my worst crop, I will stick to things that are less fussy as seeds until I can grow a garden at my own home. Although Ghungs suggestion about the automatic irrigation system could remedy this. Gotta love potatoes and squash, hearty from the get go, and the most common pest that attack them in my area, or at least my garden plot, are larger bugs so they are easy to keep relatively in check by hand.
ghung on Fri, 13th May 2016 8:57 am
“…automatic irrigation system could remedy this.
I have about 6 of these:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Orbit-2-Port-Digital-Hose-Faucet-Timer/19597666
In the fall I find them on clearance; found a couple of 3 zone models at Walmart last fall for $30 ea. last fall. Batteries last a long time and they seem quite reliable. In the high tunnel (green house) everything is on these timers; lets me dial in watering to the crop and saves water. I also get the drip hose kits on clearance in the fall; 100′ of drip hose and plenty of fittings; usually about $20 but on clearance for $12. Watering only the root zone of the plants also reduces weeds and pests.
Cloud9 on Fri, 13th May 2016 9:53 am
Victory gardens are worth the effort. “By 1944 Victory Gardens were responsible for producing 40% of all vegetables grown in the United States. More than one million tons of vegetables were grown in Victory Gardens during the war.” http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/at-a-glance/victory-gardens.html
If you look at the Cuban experience in their peak oil, the Cubans lost an average of 20lbs. They turned to gardening ever bit of land. A guy with fresh produce was more valuable than a doctor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs6xoKmnYq8
GregT on Fri, 13th May 2016 9:58 am
NWR,
“How’s your self-sustaining food effort going?”
I’ve shovelled more dirt in the last two months, than I’ve shovelled in my entire life. Every morning that I wake up, I’m more sore than I was the morning before. Some of the raised beds from the previous owner have good rich soil, others obviously haven’t been worked for very long. I’ve been screening out gravel, and adding organic compost. 6 yards of compost so far. Potatoes are hilling up nicely, tomatoes are three feet tall, peppers, eggplants, beans, peas, squash, and cucumbers are all coming along nicely. I planted asparagus for the first time, still waiting for indications of life there. Looks like we’ll have a bumper crop of figs, apples, plums and pears. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, currents, thornless blackberries and goji berries are all flowering. First plantings of lettuces, carrots, radishes, etc. to be sowed this weekend, as well as corn.
I’m with Ghung on the drip irrigation, and mulch. Still looking for the best available system here. Might have to mail order. There’s an old gal up the road who has a great deal of experience. I pick her brains whenever I get the chance.
Beats the heck out of my former rat-race of a life. I look forward to working every day, and rather than looking at my watch wondering when the day will finally be over, I’m finding that the days aren’t long enough. Should have done this a long time ago.
GregT on Fri, 13th May 2016 10:08 am
Also, if I might add, I hooked a up a small PV panel directly to a 12V fan. The more sun that the greenhouse gets, the more air circulation inside. No batteries necessary. Works like a hot damn.
I’m sure others are probably already doing this, but new to me. Still looking for a relatively cheap solution for a 12V pump for the well…..
JuanP on Fri, 13th May 2016 11:03 am
Turning lawns into hay pastures would be better than nothing, but is, IMHO, not a very practical idea. Growing fruits and veggies in raised beds, having a handful of fruit and nut trees, putting a beehive, composting, and raising chickens and rabbits would make more sense. This is already happening and it is becoming more commonplace every day everywhere in the world. It is a global movement.
Permaculture ethics and principles can be applied effectively at all scales.
JuanP on Fri, 13th May 2016 11:13 am
Greg, My guess is you probably know this, but I put a small slow flow direct solar pump that fills two cisterns on high ground when the sun is shining. The water from the cisterns uses gravity to irrigate the crops on lower ground. The cisterns cost some money, though, but the pump and PV panel were very cheap. These systems used to run on steel windmills in Uruguay, but today the solar pumps are cheaper and easier to operate. I am interested in what you are doing. Keep us informed.
yukonfisher on Fri, 13th May 2016 11:48 am
If you have to have a lawn, the clippings make wonderful compost for the non-lawn areas.
If you don’t have much land, then don’t have a lawn at al,and plant edibles.
PracticalMaina on Fri, 13th May 2016 11:55 am
JuanP, nothing like some old school basic tech to help alleviate the renewable storage issue.
ghung on Fri, 13th May 2016 12:44 pm
Greg said; “Still looking for a relatively cheap solution for a 12V pump for the well…..
I have two of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/24V-Submersible-Deep-DC-Solar-Well-Water-Pump-Solar-battery-alternate-energy-/151418866953?hash=item2341448d09:g:Pk4AAOSwmmxW55wv
The one at the garden is going strong after two years, and I see that replacement diaphragms are now available. Best run off of 24 vdc, but will pump ok at 12vdc. I’m using two 12 volt 75 watters in series and it pumps like crazy to a tank at 65 feet elevation. Two 50 watters would do great: http://www.ebay.com/itm/50-Watt-12-Volt-Polycrystalline-Solar-Panel-PV-includes-alligator-clips-/222013115986?hash=item33b1034e52:g:HdEAAOSwI3RW-sWw
Our house pump is a SunPump and is perhaps the best, but they are around $750 these days.
Lawfish1964 on Fri, 13th May 2016 3:10 pm
NWR, that is a sweet garden you’ve got! I have about 1/3 that much space, but I’m working it intensely. My soil was really good to start with but I continue to add compost to it to keep it healthy. My potatoes are off the chain this year and 32 of my 34 tomato plants are thriving. I’m getting very creative at how to grow a lot in a small space. For example, I lost my squash crop 3 years in a row, so I made a shelf at the top of my fence and put 10 containers and grew squash up there. The vine borers haven’t touched them this year and they’re producing like crazy.
Unfortunately, I seem to have wasted some time with “low chill” apple trees that produce nada. Those are getting transplanted soon and replaced with peaches and plums.
You got any chickens? I have 11 and they have got to be the closest thing to a free protein factory that there is. We’re getting 5 eggs a day and the feed is nothing. They eat every bug in the yard and every scrap of leftovers we toss into the compost bin.
GregT on Fri, 13th May 2016 8:27 pm
Thanks Ghung, just what I’ve been looking for!
Pmyers on Sat, 14th May 2016 8:14 am
Homeowners associations won’t allow this. They are very powerful in the USA.
Speculawyer on Sun, 15th May 2016 12:25 am
The lawn is a relic of British aristocracy. A lawn is basically a way of saying “I am so rich that I don’t need to plant vegetables on my land!”
It is thing that should be abandoned. Especially in drought prone areas and places where people need more food.